How the king asked the man who claimed to be a prophet, saying, “The person who is a true Messenger (of God) and becomes established (as such)—what has he to give to any one, or what gifts will people obtain by consorting with him and serving him, except the counsel which he utters with his tongue?”

شاه پرسیدش که باری وحی چیست ** یا چه حاصل دارد آن کس کو نبیست

The king questioned him, saying, “After all, what is inspiration, or what has he got who is a prophet?”

گفت خود آن چیست کش حاصل نشد ** یا چه دولت ماند کو واصل نشد

He replied, “What is there indeed that he has not got, or what fortune is left whereunto he has not attained?

گیرم این وحی نبی گنجور نیست ** هم کم از وحی دل زنبور نیست

I will suppose (for argument's sake) that this prophetic inspiration is not a treasurer (of Divine Revelations); still, it is not inferior to the inspiration in the heart of the bee.

چونک او حی الرب الی النحل آمدست ** خانه‌ی وحیش پر از حلوا شدست

Since (the words) God hath inspired the bee have come (in the Qur’án), the dwelling-place of its (the bee's) inspiration has been filled with sweets.

او به نور وحی حق عزوجل ** کرد عالم را پر از شمع و عسل 1230

Through the light of the inspiration of God the Almighty and Glorious, it filled the world with wax and honey.

این که کرمناست و بالا می‌رود ** وحیش از زنبور کمتر کی بود

This one who is (the object of) We have honoured (the sons of Adam)and is ever going upward—how should his inspiration be inferior to (that of) the bee?”

نه تو اعطیناک کوثر خوانده‌ای ** پس چرا خشکی و تشنه مانده‌ای

Have not you read (the words) We have given thee Kawthar? Why, then, are you dry and why have you remained thirsty?

یا مگر فرعونی و کوثر چو نیل ** بر تو خون گشتست و ناخوش ای علیل

Or perchance you are (like) Pharaoh, and for you Kawthar, like the Nile, has turned to blood and (become) impure, O sick man.

توبه کن بیزار شو از هر عدو ** کو ندارد آب کوثر در کدو

Repent, renounce every enemy (of God) who hath not the water of Kawthar in his cup.

هر کرا دیدی ز کوثر سرخ‌رو ** او محمدخوست با او گیر خو 1235

Whomsoever you see flushed (with joy) by Kawthar, he hath the nature of Mohammed: consort with him,

تا احب لله آیی در حساب ** کز درخت احمدی با اوست سیب

That at the Reckoning you may become (one of those who) love for God's sake; for with him are apples from the tree of Ahmad (Mohammed).

هر کرا دیدی ز کوثر خشک لب ** دشمنش می‌دار هم‌چون مرگ و تب

Whomsoever you see with lips unmoistened by Kawthar, always deem him an enemy like death and fever,

گر چه بابای توست و مام تو ** کو حقیقت هست خون‌آشام تو

Though ’tis your father or your mother; for in truth he is a drinker of your blood.

از خلیل حق بیاموز این سیر ** که شد او بیزار اول از پدر

Learn these ways of acting from the Friend of God (Abraham), who first renounced his father,

تا که ابغض لله آیی پیش حق ** تا نگیرد بر تو رشک عشق دق 1240

That in the presence of God you may become (one of those who) hate for God's sake, lest the jealousy of (Divine) Love take offence at you.

تا نخوانی لا و الا الله را ** در نیابی منهج این راه را

Until you recite “(There is) not (any god)” and “except Allah,” you will not find the plain track of this Way.

Story of the lover who was recounting to his beloved his acts of service and loyalty and the long nights (during which) their sides heave up from their beds and the long days of want and parching thirst; and he was saying, “I know not any service besides these: if there is any other service (to be done), direct me, for I submit to whatever thou mayst command, whether to enter the fire, like Khalíl (Abraham), on whom be peace, or fall into the mouth of the leviathan of the sea, like Jonah, on whom be peace, or be killed seventy times, like Jirjís (St George), on whom be peace, or be made blind by weeping, like Shu‘ayb, on whom be peace; and the loyalty and self-sacrifice of the prophets cannot be reckoned”; and how the beloved answered him.

آن یکی عاشق به پیش یار خود ** می‌شمرد از خدمت و از کار خود

A certain lover in the presence of his beloved was recounting his services and works,

کز برای تو چنین کردم چنان ** تیرها خوردم درین رزم و سنان

Saying, “For thy sake I did such and such, in this war I suffered (wounds from) arrows and spears.

مال رفت و زور رفت و نام رفت ** بر من از عشقت بسی ناکام رفت

Wealth is gone and strength is gone and fame is gone: on account of my love for thee many a misfortune has befallen me.

هیچ صبحم خفته یا خندان نیافت ** هیچ شامم با سر و سامان نیافت 1245

No dawn found me asleep or laughing; no eve found me with capital and means.”

آنچ او نوشیده بود از تلخ و درد ** او به تفصیلش یکایک می‌شمرد

What he had tasted of bitters and dregs he was recounting to her in detail, point by point,

نه از برای منتی بل می‌نمود ** بر درستی محبت صد شهود

Not for the sake of reproach; nay, he was displaying a hundred testimonies of the trueness of his love.

عاقلان را یک اشارت بس بود ** عاشقان را تشنگی زان کی رود

For men of reason a single indication is enough, (but) how should the thirst (longing) of lovers be removed thereby?

می‌کند تکرار گفتن بی‌ملال ** کی ز اشارت بس کند حوت از زلال

He (the lover) repeats his tale unweariedly: how should a fish be satisfied with (mere) indication (so as to refrain) from the limpid water?

صد سخن می‌گفت زان درد کهن ** در شکایت که نگفتم یک سخن 1250

He (the lover), from that ancient grief, was speaking a hundred words in complaint, saying, “I have not spoken a word.”

آتشی بودش نمی‌دانست چیست ** لیک چون شمع از تف آن می‌گریست

There was a fire in him: he did not know what it was, but on account of its heat he was weeping like a candle.

A certain man asked a mystic theologian, “If any one weep loudly during the ritual prayer and moan and lament, is his prayer rendered void?” He replied, “The name of those (tears) is ‘water of the eye’: consider what that weeper has seen: if he has seen (felt) longing for God or repentance for a sin and weeps, his prayer is not spoilt; nay, it attains perfection, for ‘there is no prayer without presence of the heart’; but if he has (inwardly) seen bodily sickness or the loss of a son, his prayer is spoilt, for the foundation of prayer is the abandonment of the body and the abandonment of sons, like Abraham, who was offering his son as a sacrifice in order to perfect his prayer and giving up his body to Nimrod's fire; and Mustafá (Mohammed), on whom be peace, was commanded (by God) to act after these manners: “follow the religion of Abraham.” “Verily ye have had a good example in Abraham.”

آن یکی پرسید از مفتی به راز ** گر کسی گرید به نوحه در نماز 1265

A certain man asked a mufti in private, “If any one weep lamentably during the ritual prayer,

آن نماز او عجب باطل شود ** یا نمازش جایز و کامل بود

I wonder, will his prayer be rendered void, or will his prayer be licit and perfect?”

گفت آب دیده نامش بهر چیست ** بنگری تا که چه دید او و گریست

He replied, “Wherefore is it named ‘the water of the eye’? You should consider what it (the eye) saw and (then) wept.

آب دیده تا چه دید او از نهان ** تا بدان شد او ز چشمه‌ی خود روان

Consider what the water of the eye saw in secret, so that on that account it began to flow from its spring.

آن جهان گر دیده است آن پر نیاز ** رونقی یابد ز نوحه آن نماز

If the supplicant has seen yonder world, that prayer (of his) gains a lustre from (his) lamentation;